Jidara's Vision
by starry-oblivion
Summary: After an encounter with a faerie named Jidara, Raphael's girlfriend begins to have vivid visions of the future. [One shot based on the events of my story, Reflections of my Future Self. Raph x OC]


_Allison was tired._

_She rolled out of bed, wincing at the pain in her back._ You'd think I was an old maid_, she thought sardonically as she stumbled out of her room and made her way __towards the bathroom__. She was only halfway down the hall when a small figure crashed into her, almost making her fall backwards. Blinking down, she groaned, "Brendan, what are you doing running through the hall?"_

_The small boy looked up at her with his large brown eyes. "Sorry, Mommy," he told her. He had a box of Honey Nut Cheerios in his arms and seemed anxious to get past her. "The new fall season starts today, so I wanted to wake Daddy up so we can have a quick breakfast and then watch cartoons 'til noon! __Wanna__ join us?"_

_Allison couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the thought of __Brendan's father__ being woken up only to watch Saturday morning cartoons until his brain rot. "I think I'll pass," she answered. "Go bug Daddy. And let me know if he mutters any of those bad words I've warned him about using."_

_She watched as her son raced past her and banged into the bedroom she shared with Raphael._

* * *

"Yo, kid. Kid, you awake, or what?" 

Allison's eyes slowly fluttered open. She had apparently fallen asleep on Raphael's lap while watching television. When she slowly sat up and stretched, she saw that Raphael was looking at her quizzically. "You were laughin' in your sleep again," he said. "Man, it gives me the creeps when you laugh in your sleep. What the heck do ya dream about, anyway?"

Avoiding the question with a small knowing smile, Allison replied, "At least _I_ don't snore." Raphael barked out that he _didn't_ snore, except maybe sometimes, and that snoring was a heck of a lot more normal than laughing. With a giggle, she told him, "Right. Anyway, finish watching the game and let me know who won. I'm gonna go take a quick shower before I fall asleep for the night."

"Fine," Raphael smirked as she got up. "Can't wait to see the look on your face when I tell ya how the Mets kicked the Yankees' butts." Allison told him that she had the distinct impression that _he_ was dreaming now.

She slipped into her room and began looking for a pair of pajamas. It was likely that Raphael would spend the night, as he had fallen into the habit of doing ever since the Subway Series started. Discovering that they rooted for opposing baseball teams had done wonders for their relationship; they would argue nonstop for the hour before the game, nudge one another as their respective teams scored or fouled up, and argue for another hour or so once the game was over. Raphael would then be too exhausted to do anything but fall asleep on her sofa and Allison would stamp off to bed… until she eventually got up to lead the half-asleep turtle back to her bed out of pity. _We've fallen into a __routine_, Allison realized. _Which is good.__ It's what all good couples do. Except…._

As time went on, Allison's dreams began to imitate and often elaborate on the flurry of images that the faerie Jidara had claimed to be visions of the future. They were surprising enough when she first caught a glimpse of them on that day that she and the turtles had defeated an old enemy that was reanimated by the use of faerie magic. Now, however, they were getting just a little too realistic and detailed for her tastes. She even found that she had little control over when these visions decided to haunt her.

She had told her closest confidantes—her best friend Robert and her boyfriend's brother Leonardo—about these apparitions, but she neglected to tell Raphael himself. Some of them were things that he was clearly never meant to-

* * *

_"Kids, you're __gonna__ stay with your mom, okay?"_

_Kayla, the eldest girl, didn't want to let go of her father. Allison didn't blame her. "Raphael," she breathed as she huddled in the alley, holding the two younger children besides her. "You _can't_ go back in there. The fire's too-"_

_"Allison," Raphael said levelly as he gently pulled Kayla's arms __away from him, "Leo and Donnie are in there. I'm _not _gonna__ let __somethin__' happen to them because of some fire __breakin__'__ out in __our house." He turned back to the pre-teen who still tried to pull him back. __"Kayla, honey, stay with your mom, okay?__ If anything happens, take your brothe__rs __back to Rob's place. __Mikey's__ there __babysittin__' Rosalind; he'll be able to get __ya__ back to the old lair while your mom deals with the cops."_

_"I'm _not _leaving you, Dad," Kayla hissed at him. "Leo and Don are my uncles; there's no reason why I shouldn't-" Raphael almost pushed her back against the brick wall._

_"You're __stayin__' here," Raphael told his daughter__ firmly__. "Take care of your family and mind your parents. That's an _order, _ya__ hear me?" Allison reached up and grabbed Kayla's hand. As she allowed herself to be pulled down, Kayla nodded slowly, a tear streaming down her eye. Raphael looked __down __at the four of them huddled together. "I'll be back __soon's__ I can. They need me." Allison didn't have the chance to say anything before he spun around and __stumbled__ back __towards__ the blazing house._

_"Daddy's coming back," __Mark breathed against his mother's neck, "__ain't__ he?" Allison didn't answer. Raphael had done a lot of stupid things in his life, but this was by far the worst. She hoped that he would survive to push the limits of his stupidity just a little bit more._

Don't you dare, _she thought as she kept her eyes fixated on the dancing flames in what had once been her dream house._ Don't you dare leave me alone with these three kids, and just head off to play the hero while telling Kayla to carry on in your stead if "something happens." We _know _what that's code for. We've been through enough instances of "something _nearly _happening" to know that-

_She didn't realize that she was crying __angry tears until Brendan asked her what was__ wrong. Unable to simply sit in the street and wait any longer, Allison handed Mark to Kayla. "Take Mark, honey. Brendan, stay close __to__ your sister."_

_"Mom?"__ Kayla asked, alarmed._

_"Don't let__ anything happen to them.__ I'm just going to go-"_

_"Like _shell _you are!"__ Allison got up and tried not to flinch at the language that her daughter had picked up from Raphael's side of the family. __Though she held her baby brother tightly, Kayla __stood__ and pulled at her mother's arm. "You're __stayin__' right here! Let's face it; we've_ both _come to expect this __kinda__ behavior from Dad, but you're smarter than that. You __ain't__ about to leave your kids here, are __ya__?"_

_Allison whirled around and faced her daughter. "Kayla, your father's hurt. We don't know if Donatello and Leonardo are okay. Just take your brothers and go find Uncle Mike. He'll take care of you."_

_"We don't need_ _uncles__!" Kayla screamed. "We need our _parents_! Just __cuz__ you were fine without any for a long time, it don't mean that _we'll_ be! Look at us! Who's __gonna__ take us in? __Who's __gonna__-?"_

_"_Nobody's_ going to need__ to 'take you in,'" Allison told her sternly. "I'm going to get your father out of there. You'll see. Now listen to your mother, Kayla. Take Brendan and Mark, and get them-"_

_"Look!" Brendan suddenly called out. "I see somebody coming out! __Daddy?__ Is it him?"__ Allison spun around. She could make out someone staggering out of the house, a heavy blanket over his body. Allison motioned for her children to stay put as she ran to__wards__ whoever it was._

_"Donatello!" Allison coughed. Being this close to the fire made it difficult to speak. Seeing Donatello hacking in the smoke, she pulle__d him back towards her family. Once in the alley, h__e fell __t__o his knees, breathing in the fresh night air as Brendan put a small hand on his shoulder. "Donatello," Allison said gently as she crouched besides the turtle. His face was streaked with ashes and tears. Feeling a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach, she asked, "__Are you okay? __Where-?"_

_"Dad!"__ Kayla cried out. Allison looked back up. With an even more marked limp than he had before, Raphael was slowly making his way towards them. Rising, she initially thought that he __also __had a blanket draped over his shoulders. She made a small sound when she saw that this wasn't the case._

_"Honey," she told Kayla as Raphael approached. "Stay behind me. Come __on,__ just… just stay behind me. Don't look.__" Having inherited more traits from her father than her siblings__ ha__d__, Kayla wouldn't listen. Even when Allison pulled the girl behind her, she still peered around her mother's __torso._

_"Uncle Leo?"_

_"Raphael, is he-?" Allison couldn't bring herself to finish the question. __Once Raphael __entered the mouth of the alley, he carefully sank down to the ground and pulled Leonardo onto his lap. It didn't appear as though Allison needed to ask anything. _

_Sirens began sounding in the distance. Staring into Leonardo's ash-stained face, Raphael quietly said, "Kayla, take the boys to Rob's." __Kayla tried to object, but__ Raphael repeated his command in a much harsher voice. With a scared squeal, Kayla took Brendan's hand and __hurriedly __led the __boys__ away, sparing one final glance at the group of adults before disappearing into the shadows._

_Allison normally hated when Raphael raised his voice at any of the kids, but she didn't say anything about it now. __She knew why Raphael couldn't__ have any of them here__. He needed to cry. And as he often said, he'd be damned if he'd let any of his children watch him cry. _

_As Donatello remained on his knees with his head bowed as though in the middle of a silent prayer, Raphael brought Leonardo close to his__ chest and embraced his brother__, letting the tears fall free__ly. __Allison felt her head swimming as the world began to grow distorted. She realized that these were tears that made her vision blur, and she forced herself to look down. _

_Seeing Leonardo's hand, she __squeezed her eyes shut and __gently took hold of it.__ It was still warm, and she felt ill to think that she would never watch it make paper airplanes for Brendan or Mark ever again, and that he wouldn't be able to train Kayla in the same way that he had trained her. __It was an altogether depressing, dismal-_

_Her thoughts froze when she felt a flicker of pressure against her hand. Though she was still trembling with her quiet sobs, she could distinctly feel someone gripping her hand, first weakly, and then with a great deal of strength. Opening her eyes, she saw that the only one holding her hand was Leonardo._

_"Raph," she breathed in a choked whisper. "I think he's… I think he's all right."_

* * *

"Kid? Kid, you alright in there?" 

Allison opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor of her bedroom, her pajamas clenched tightly in her hands. She had been in the middle of a coughing spasm and could feel that her face was wet with tears. Raphael had rushed into the room and was crouching besides her, concerned.

"Yeah," she quickly muttered. Clearing her throat, she put a hand to the back of her head, as though checking for a bump. "I must've tripped over something and hit the back of my head. Ow. When'd the darkness become so dark, anyway?"

She looked up at Raphael. Though he seemed to accept her explanation, he didn't seem wholly convinced. "Lemme see," he said, trying to part her thick dark hair. "You ain't bleedin' or nuthin', are ya?"

"Why?" Allison asked, trying to laugh it off. "Afraid you'll miss part of the game if you have to bandage my scalp? It's nothing. I'll take a shower and come out singing show tunes, annoying you as only _I_ can. Sound good?" She rose before he could protest. "I'll leave the door to the bathroom unlocked," she added with a smirk. "In case I have a concussion, make sure I don't drown, okay?"

Prepared to take her coyness as a sign that it really _was_ nothing, Raphael stood and threw in a smirk of his own. "Right," he told her as she went towards the bathroom. "Ya sure there ain't no _other_ reason for ya to leave the door unlocked?"

Before closing the door behind her, she laughed, "I'd love for you to _try_ it, darling. I _will_ go ninja on your butt."

Alone in the bathroom now, Allison leaned her back against the door, gazing into the mirror across from her. She saw the reflection of a young woman who really, really, _really_ wanted to go back to the faerie world and track Jidara down, telling her that she should have kept her stupid premonitions to herself. At first, it had been nice to see that quick glance into the future, to get an eyeful of her children and of her family life. But she didn't want to have to _experience_ any of this until the future became the present.

_On the plus side_, she thought as she turned on the water in the shower, _I at least found out that Leonardo was okay. Or… that he _seemed_ okay. __For the moment._ If she only knew what would ultimately _cause_ the fire that she had seen in at least three instances, she would be able to prevent it. Or would she? She had the distinct impression that Donatello could give her a long lecture on the chaos theory and point her towards a few examples in popular culture that illustrate why attempting to change the future never quite worked.

_Kayla_, she mused as she began undressing. _Pretty name.__ I wonder which one of us thought of it. Well, considering that I know it now, I'm pretty sure that I'll have something to do with it. Does that mean I was destined to know all of this ahead of time anyway? Man, this seeing into the future stuff is pretty trippy._

Allison continued to ponder this as she stepped into the shower. The warm water did little to soothe her nerves after that horrendous scene that played out in her mind. What was so good about knowing things like that? Why did Jidara feel the need to _infect_ her with that kind of knowledge?

_Raphael saved Leonardo_, Allison realized. He_ was the one devoted towards the safety of his brothers and pulled _Leonardo_ out of __there. _Letting the water wash over her face, she contemplated what this meant. There would be a time in the future when Raphael—as happy as he might've been with the family that Allison gave him—would choose to risk his content life for his brothers without so much as blinking an eye. He would sacrifice his happiness to become a hero. He would be everything that Leonardo would want him to be.

The thought barely made it to her mind before Allison felt herself reel backwards.

* * *

_"Oh God, the pain."_

_"Yeah, I know it hurts, kid.__ But it's okay. Look. Look what we made." Allison slowly opened her eyes. She was drained. Her lower half was completely sore. She wanted to mutter obscenities and roll over and sleep, preferably after eating some McDonald's. But when she saw the child__ lying peacefully besides her, all of those thoughts were swept away._

_A girl. __A little girl.__ She looked human enough, save for the dark green skin that she inherited from her father. Though she had no shell, her tiny hands were balled into small, three-fingered fists, and her two-toed feet batted the air, as though wanting to kick something. Only twenty minutes old, and it was already clear which parent she would take after._

_"That was far more painless than I anticipated," Donatello remarked from the other side of the room. "Well… for _me_, at any rate. Both Allison and the baby are completely healthy, and Allison didn't even black out. Your tolerance for pain must be-"_

_"Kayla," Allison murmured, still staring at her new daughter. "Her name's Kayla. Not 'the baby.' I don't think she's ever going to take kindly to being referred to as a baby." Donatello made a comment about Allison predicting that the child would end up with Raphael's temperament, earning him a bemused look from Raphael._

_Raphael didn't give Donatello much of his attention. He reached out and gingerly traced a pattern around the infant's chubby cheeks__ with one of his fingers__, as though he was afraid he'd break her. "I never thought I'd see the day," he said lowly. "__All this time… I was so scared. I didn't __wanna__ say __nuthin__' but… I was afraid that she'd come out… _wrong _or __somethin__', whatever that means. But now… __lookin__' at her… she's perfect. __I've never seen __nuthin__' so perfect in my life."__ Looking up at Allison, he added, "Don't worry; _you _run a close second."_

_Allison offered a laugh, never taking her eyes off of Kayla. Though it hurt to move, she reached over and gently __draped__ an arm over her daughter, also afraid of doing some damage to the small, fragile creature. "I was scared for _you_, too," Raphael told her. Allison offered him a quick glance as he went on. "I didn't know how… I mean… it was just like the first time we… you know. __Nuthin__' like this ever ha__ppened before, so I wondered if-"_

_"Raphael," Allison said. "Shut up. You're killing the moment."_

_"I love you, too," Raphael chuckled._

_"Hey, hey, hey, I hear mini-bud's got a new playmate!" Allison looked up to see that Michelangelo __and Leonardo __had entered the room, followed by Robert and his young daughter Rosalind._

_"__Speakin__' 'a __killin__' the moment," Raphael remarked, "__here__ comes the peanut gallery, with a fresh stock 'a nuts."__ Ignoring him, Rosalind ran up besides Raphael and looked down at the small__ creature lying besides Allison__, her eyes alight with curiosity._

_"__Ros__, honey, what'd I tell you?" Robert asked as he stepped in behind his daughter__ and pulled her back__. "Be careful around the baby." Putting a hand on Raphael's shoulder, he murmured, "She's beautiful, Raph. Congratulations."_

_"I'm sure Allison is the one that deserves the congratulations more," Leonardo said quietly as __moved to stand besides Allison. __Brushing her sweat-dampened hair out of her face, he smiled at her as she gazed up at him. "__Don't worry," he said with a laugh. "__I promise no one's going to remember what you look like right now. At least, no one is going to hold it against you, given what just happened."_

_"Man, you had us worried, bud," Michelangelo threw in as he sat at the foot of the bed. "Screaming and cursing like that… never would've figured you to have much of a mouth on you. I'd say that you've been hanging around Raph too much, but considering the new mini-bud here, I think we all know how true _that_ is."_

_"Mikey," Raphael told him, too blissful to yell, "can it, will __ya__?"_

_The entire room quieted down as Allison slowly managed to sit up with Leonardo's aid. __Donatello came to join his newly-extended family. __Even the young Rosalind knew that this baby meant that something special was happening. __Two different worlds were now permanently joined… and that would change everything for everyone in the room._

_"Guess we came too late to grab a seat," Casey's voice said from the door. __Allison looked up to see him, April, and Splinter standing at the doorway.__ Casey was holding so many balloons that they hardly fit through the __door,__ and April seemed to have a small teddy bear in her hands__. Splinter slowly walked into the room, leaning heavily on his cane. Michelangelo quickly got up to __help __him towards Raphael, who stood as his sensei entered the room._

_Kayla began to make small sounds and, concerned that she may begin to cry, Allison quickly lifted the girl up and cradled her in her arms__, ignoring the sharp bolt of pain in her lower abdomen__. She noticed that Splinter repressed a small chuckle as the girl's fists swatted the air. His eyes also appeared to be shining with tears before he looked up to his son and engulfed him in a hug._

_"Casey," April whispered. "Remember all those times you joke__d__ about Kodak moments?"_

_"Yeah," Casey responded. _

_"This really _is _one. Get my camera out of my bag."_

_Allison could feel tears streaming down her eyes at the touching sight in front of her. Kayla had grabbed hold of __one of Leonardo's fingers__, and __appear__ed to be looking at it with great interest. Michelangelo had picked Rosalind up and the two of them were trying to reach over, cooing to the baby despite __Robert and __Donatello's warnings about crowding her._

_It was all so perfect. __So very…._

* * *

"Alright, now you're just scarin' me." 

Allison opened her eyes, stunned by the warm water falling all around her. She was sitting in her shower and could see Raphael's green outline standing outside the shower door. "If you're conscious, ya better make some kinda sign about it soon, cuz I ain't gonna let ya slap me for openin' this door."

The water quickly brought her back to reality. Standing, Allison stuttered, "Y… you wouldn't dare, hotshot." Raphael stood straight, as though surprised that she actually responded. The relief was evident in his voice when he asked if she was okay. "Yeah," she replied as she rubbed the back of her head, trying to look at Raphael's distorted form through the glass. "Slipped. On some soap. Ow again."

Raphael remained silent for a long time, but he didn't move to leave the room. Though she knew that he couldn't see her in detail, she suddenly felt very exposed. Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited for him to give some sort of response.

"You're lyin'," he finally said simply. "I don't know what's goin' on here, kid, but you've been actin' funny the past couple 'a weeks. Even when I try to bring it up to Leo, he tells me that ya got your reasons. So I'm startin' to think that there's somethin' _he_ knows that _I_ don't. And we _all_ know how much I hate it when that happens. So what is it? Are ya sick? Is there somethin' goin' on that you'd think I'd worry about? Cuz that's the only thing I can think of that'd explain why you're suddenly sprawled on the ground and givin' me some lame excuses."

It was Allison's turn to keep quiet. She and Robert had both decided against Raphael knowing about Jidara's visions, since giving a person information about his own future will greatly effect how he chooses to behave. Leonardo only knew the fuzziest of details, and he also recommended that Raphael remain ignorant of the facts. But if she was constantly going to wind up on the floor in tears or phantom pains, how much longer could she really keep this from him?

"Are you calling me lame?" Allison jokingly asked at last. "Or sick in the head? Because if that's what you're insinuating, I can think of a lot of nicer ways to tell me that you're worried. I mean, speaking plain English is always-"

"Allison."

"What?"

"I'm _serious_."

Suddenly chilled by Raphael's severe voice, Allison fiddled with the water temperature. "I know you are," she said after a pause. "Truth is, I don't really know what's going on. Maybe I'm narcoleptic or something. That'd be better than the alternative." Raphael asked her _what_ alternative. She took a deep breath before telling him, "Well, I've been this way ever since we left the faeries. Maybe it's… I don't know… some kind of leftover faerie magic or something."

After a moment, Raphael replied, "That's what I was thinkin', too. Didn't wanna say nuthin', though." He muttered a curse as he put a hand on the shower door. "I had really hoped we'd seen the last 'a those guys. It must be that Royal Circle creep, messin' around with your head as some kinda revenge or somethin'."

"I don't think so," Allison answered. "I… I don't think it's malignant. Something about it seems… residual. Like it's going to wear off soon. I don't think it's going to be like this forever."

"Kid, if you're just sayin' that so I don't go breakin' heads-"

"Raphael," she said sternly. "Honest. I really _do_ feel like it's going away."

"Well, excuse me if I choose not to believe ya."

"Look, I'm fine," Allison snapped. "Really. No bruises, no concussion, no blood. See for yourself." She quickly shut her mouth, realizing what she had just said. Raphael was quiet, and surely he knew better than to actually _try_ to-… wouldn't he?

She held her breath when his hand went to grab the handle of the shower door. Though Raphael had seen her naked before they had even started dating, those instances were isolated to times when she had returned from a temporary mutation. He had never even made any signs that he would _care_ much to see her sans clothing. Then again, she also would have never figured him for boyfriend material. He still had plenty of ways to surprise her.

"You put your arms down," Raphael observed. Allison realized that she had indeed uncrossed her arms and now stood with her back against the tiles, staring at Raphael. "Almost makes me think that ya were bein' serious." He put his hand down and began to leave. "By the way, the Mets won."

Allison blinked, astonished that she was somewhat disappointed by the outcome. With a smirk, she grabbed her wash towel and slid the door open just enough to toss the damp rag at Raphael. It caught him in the back of the head with a wet _smack_. "Hey!" Raphael blurted out. Looking back to see what she had thrown at him, he raised an eye ridge at her. "Cute. Real cute."

Seeing that he still persisted to leave the room, Allison grabbed hold of her small bottle of shower gel and tossed it at him. Though it bounced off his shell, he snarled in irritation. "What, ya got a whole arsenal in there, kid?"

"Just showing you my pitching arm," Allison remarked innocently.

"You're pitchin' arm, huh?" Raphael asked. "Let's see your pitchin' arm help ya outta _this_." She laughed and just managed to move out of the way when he dove towards her, sliding the door out of the way as he jumped into the shower. Pinning her arms to her sides and pushing her against the wall, he shot her a half-smile as he told her, "Show me your pitchin' arm _now_, kid."

She continued to laugh joyfully until she noticed that his expression became more and more uncomfortable. Noting that his eyes remained fixated on hers, she realized what was wrong. "You're trying _really_ hard not to look down right now, aren't you?" With an awkward grin, Raphael replied that he hadn't known just how much willpower he possessed until that moment.

Allison hesitated for a moment before saying, "You _can_, you know. Look down." Seeing his surprised face made her cheeks go red. "I mean, if you wanted to. I don't mind as much as I pretend to sometimes." She looked away from him when she saw that his gaze hadn't changed.

Backing away from her, Raphael continued to stare at her face rather than anywhere else. "I didn't know that we were at that stage 'a the game yet, kid. I'm still a little new at figurin' out exactly what constitutes as first 'n second base and when I'm allowed to make it to the next one."

"Ah, baseball analogies for sex and relationships," Allison breathed sarcastically. "How quaint and ironic." She returned her eyes to Raphael and offered him a crooked smile. "Look, our relationship has been anything but conventional, and I doubt that that's going to change any time soon. There's no reason to apply conventional labels to what we may or may not decide to look at or do, is there?"

"And what exactly do you think we'll be decidin' to do?" Raphael asked, smirking as he carefully put his arms around her waist. "I mean, don't girls usually have a ten- or twenty-year plan for every relationship they get themselves into? You already got names for our kids picked out?"

Allison grinned, more to keep herself from breaking down in hysterical laughter. He chuckled, taking her grin to mean that everything was all right. Interested as to what his reaction would be, Allison slowly offered, "Actually, I rather like the name Kayla."

"Kayla?"

"Yeah."

Raphael seemed to think about it for a moment, saying the name to himself a couple of times. "Yeah," he finally murmured, wearing a small contemplative smile. "It's a nice name. I approve. When ya decide to have kids, name your first daughter Kayla."

Allison made a small sound, but stopped herself. Raphael looked at her quizzically. She didn't feel comfortable correcting him by saying that Kayla wouldn't be the name of _her_ first daughter, but of _theirs_. If Raphael was really as much like human men as he had proven himself to be, then he was likely to shy away at the thought of becoming a father, especially when he was barely eighteen.

Yet, she already knew that he _wouldn't_ shy away from it when the time came. Either he would look at it as assuming responsibility for his actions, or he would actually _enjoy_ being a parent. That was what she could gather from her visions, at any rate. And that knowledge made her just a little more comfortable. After all, wouldn't _any_ woman feel better after knowing that she was involved with a man who was more than willing to be in it for the long haul and who was likely to make innumerable sacrifices for the well-being of his family? _Thanks, __Jidara_, she thought as she embraced Raphael and leaned her head on his shoulder. _I guess you knew what you were doing after all._ Aloud, she told Raphael, "I'm glad you approve."

Raphael tightened his grip on her, as though afraid that she might just fall to the floor again. After a moment, he asked, "On the level, kid. Do ya know what's wrong? Cuz if I'm gonna have to worry about whether or not you're actually drownin' in the shower-"

"Then you're just going to have to join me for more showers, aren't you?" Allison pulled back just enough to look at him, amused by his concern. "It's funny," she added. "Suddenly, I really do think I'm all right. Everything happens for a reason, right? Well, I think I've found the reason for all of the weirdness."

He asked her what it was, and she whispered, "_You_." When he blinked at her in confusion, she smiled gently. "I saw things, Raphael," she finally confessed. "I've never had a plan for the future, and that's been starting to worry me as I got older. But now I know that I don't _need_ a plan for the future… apparently, the future has a plan for me. And _you're_ that plan."

Raphael remained silent for a moment. At length, he asked, "What the _heck_ are ya babblin' about?" It wasn't an aggressive question so much as it was one of pure confusion. And, Allison realized, of curiosity. He wanted to know. Should she tell him, or should she allow at least _one_ of them to be surprised by what time unfolds?

"Do you need to know now?" Allison inquired. "Or can you wait? Can you trust yourself to know what will make me happy, or do you really think you need to know ahead of time just to be sure of yourself?"

He seemed to need a moment to think about it. Finally meeting her eyes again, Raphael replied, "I know which is the noble answer… but curiosity's gonna be kickin' me in the shell if I don't know. I wanna make sure you're happy as long as we're together. I really do. So tell me: what's gonna keep ya happy?"

Allison could see in his eyes that he was disappointed by his own response. As proud and self-reliant as he was, Raphael simply couldn't depend on himself to keep this relationship afloat. Allison actually found that rather heart-warming.

She leaned in close to him and again answered, "_You_." Raphael was about to say something, but she pressed on. "Can you do that, Raphael? Can you just keep giving me more of yourself? Can you be a person that your entire family can be proud of?" In a lower voice, she asked, "Can you keep being _you_?"

Raphael appeared to be dumbfounded. She knew that he had always had some issues with his confidence, despite his outward cockiness. There were times when he felt that he was living under Leonardo's shadow, which accounted for many of their arguments. Very few things could explain his hostility towards most of the other people he meets, and he was shocked that someone would actually ask that he continue being himself. Could he do that? As he got closer to adulthood, would he be able to be the person he was while also being the person he wanted to be? Allison seemed to think so. And she also seemed to think a lot of other positive things about him that he didn't think he'd ever understand.

"Yeah," he replied after going over all of this in his head. "I think I can do that." She smiled at him and they embraced once more, mindless of the running shower and of her exposure. After a moment's hesitation, he questioned, "So… what exactly did ya see? I mean… ya implied that ya saw the future. And that I was in it. What'd ya see?"

Bemused by his inquisitiveness, Allison spared him a wry glance. "Oh, it was all pretty fuzzy," she lied. "Like a dream. Lots of stuff I didn't understand. Though I _did_ see one clear image." Raphael asked what it was. With a grin, she told him, "You became a Yankees fan."

"Dirty liar," he growled.

"Asked for Jeter's autograph and everything."

"I wouldn't go near that creep!"

Allison laughed and replied, "Well, you're just going to have to wait and see, aren't you?" Raphael retorted that the only thing he would see was _her_ conversion into a Mets fan, if she knew what was good for her. She then asked if he was threatening her. They continued their heated dialogue until Raphael finally slammed the shower door shut. Pinning her to the wall, he kissed her hard, determined to shut her up. It worked.

When they parted, she pointed behind him and told him, "You break that door, you're paying for it." Raphael snickered and told her that that was another thing they'd have to wait and see about. As she smiled and kissed him again, Allison thought, _There's__ a whole lot of things we'll have to wait for. But the good thing is… we'll be waiting together._

Having taught her enough, Jidara's visions have ceased to visit her ever since that night.


End file.
